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Saturday, September 5, 2015

5 September 394 A.D. A major battle and victory went to Emperor Theodosius I, otherwise known as “Theodosius the Great”

5September 394 A.D. A major battle and victory went
to Emperor Theodosius I, otherwise known as “Theodosius the Great”

Christianizing features in the Roman Empire began
with Constantine the Great. “In this sign, conquer” became a well-known phrase
from his time. He favored Christianity and promoted it.The Roman bureaucracy was full of
non-Christian pagans. The Christian majority was in the East: Asian, Bythynia,
Pontus, parts of Armenia, and North Africa. Constantine’s successors continued
the policy of favoring Christians until Julian the Apostate ascended the
throne.

Julian the Apostate sought to restore pagan
religion and culture. But, he died and Emperor Gratian assumed the throne,
adopting a program “more ruthless in the treatment of paganism” (498).Gratian refused the title Pontifex Maximus (senior priest of the
Roman religion, essentially, an all-inclusive set of pluralistic deities).Further, he cut off subsidies for the Roman
cults. Things were looking down for the old religionists.

Theodosius I became the Emperor of the eastern
portion of the Roman Empire, based in Constantinople.His was another “ruthless brand of
Christianity” (499). At the prompting of Milan’s bishop, St. Ambrose, he
“passed harsh laws making it treason to offer any kind of sacrifice, removing
all idols, and fining anybody who visited a pagan temple.”

By the way, Mr. (Bp) Ambrose would also chastise
and refuse communion to Theodosius without public repentance after Mr.
Theodosius slaughtered 100s of Corinthians in Macedonia, but that’s an aside.

Paganism, like all cherished worldviews, was not
going away easily. In 392, Eugenius (a supposed Christian), ascended to the
throne in Rome.He rode off to battle
with the eastern Emperor, Theodosius.

The two sides engaged in battle at the Frigidus
River, south of the Alps. Eugenius’ troops had their battle banners unfurled
with “Hercules” as their patron-deity.Theodosius’ forces won on 5
September 394 A.D.